A parliamentary Republic, Bulgaria is headed by President Gheorghi Parvanov. At the end of 2002 there were 7,845,500 inhabitants (68% concentrated in the cities). Bulgarians form 84.5% of the population, Turks 9.6%, gipsies 4.2% and other minorities 1.7%. Orthodox believers form 82.6% of the population, Moslems 12.2%, Catholics 0.6% (of whom 0.4% of the Latin rite and 0.2% of the Byzantine rite), Protestants 0.5%, others 0.2%, and atheists 3.9%. Two opposing Synods exist within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The Catholic Church has 3 dioceses, two of the Latin rite and one of the Byzantine rite, whose bishops form the interritual Bulgarian Episcopal Conference; there are 58 priests. In 1994 unemployment reached the record level of 20.5%, among the highest in Europe. The average monthly salary is 120 euros; it is calculated that 549 euros per month are necessary for the normal life of a nuclear family of 4 persons.
